EWJ Dec 2023 - Journal - Page 47
Experts will also be invited to a conference with their
instructing legal team (solicitor and barrister), the
party instructing them, and the other experts advising
that team. This conference is to discuss the respective
reports to ensure that the experts have all considered
the appropriate issues, any difference in opinion is discussed and, if possible, resolved, and the reports are
finalised to present a cohesive body of evidence. At this
stage, the expert reports are served on the other
parties.
based on the documentary, lay and expert witness evidence served. If no agreement between the parties is
forthcoming, the case will proceed to a trial where the
court will consider the evidence. If any aspect of an
expert’s evidence is disputed, the expert will need to
attend the trial, give evidence and be cross-examined.
The court will then make a finding of fact on the issue.
Summary
The importance of expert witnesses cannot be
understated. Each expert helps the parties and, ultimately, the court understand matters requiring their
specialist skill and knowledge. The expert must have
a robust understanding of their CPR Part 35 duties to
ensure they act impartially at all times. This not only
serves the interests of justice, but it allows each party
to understand the commercial realities of the claim
and dynamically assess the risks of proceeding.
Experts will then be provided with the opponent’s
expert evidence and asked to consider it in detail. If
court proceedings are underway, the court may have
directed the experts to discuss their respective reports
with their counterpart and provide a joint statement
on the areas of agreement and disagreement. Those
discussions and reports do not involve the legal teams
and are prepared by the experts and then served on
both parties at the same time.
You can find further information regarding our
expertise, experience and team on our Personal
Injury pages at
www.stewartslaw.com/expertise/personal-injury/
Jointly instructed experts will provide their report to
both sides at the same time and provide updates as required by the parties. As there is only one joint expert
in that field, there will be no other report to consider
and no need for a joint statement.
Key Contact
Rebecca Hill
Rebecca Hill
Legal Director, Personal Injury
+44 (0)113 222 0020
rhill@stewartslaw.com
www.stewartslaw.com
Schedules of loss and resolution
Once the expert evidence is complete, the parties will
each finalise a schedule of loss to summarise the compensation being claimed (or offered), which is directly
Dr Michael T Isaac
Consultant Psychiatrist & Neuropsychiatrist
MA (Cantab), MB, BS (Lond), IFAPA, FRCPsych, MAE, QDR
Consultant Psychiatrist & Neuropsychiatrist, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist
and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine, South London
and Maudsley NHS Trust. Member Academy of Experts. Thirty Five Years
Psychiatric Experience.
Trained in Neuropathology (especially Head Injury) at University of Glasgow;
Psychiatry at Maudsley, Neuropsychiatry at National Hospital for Neurology,
Queen Square, London. Gaskell Medallist, Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Special interest in Neuropsychiatry, Functional Disorders (SSD, FND, etc),
Pain psychiatry, Mood disorders, Personal Injury, PTSD, Capacity, Forensic and
Occupational Psychiatry, Medical Negligence.
Joint, Claimant, Defendant Instructions accepted.
Tel: 020 3369 7188
Mobile: 0771 0328290
Email: mtisaac@pm.me - Fax: 020 8658 2579
Address: Keats House, 24-26 St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RS
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
45
DECEMBER 2023